Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash Sunday triggered an outpouring of grief across the world, with sports fans paying tribute to one of basketball’s greatest-ever talents. But one eXp Realty agent saw the tragedy as an opportunity, and an off-color remark she made on social media has now led to her dismissal.
“Who’s his realtor?” agent Baha Nabulsi posted in a Facebook group called “Real Estate Mastermind” just hours after Bryant, his teenage daughter and seven others were killed when their helicopter crashed into a Calabasas hillside outside Los Angeles. According to Inman, a managing broker from eXp’s Austin office, Shelia Dunagan, posted an apology and promised that the issue would be “dealt with.”
Nabulsi was later fired from eXp, with a spokesperson for the firm telling Inman that the firm “does not condone or support behavior that does not match our core values.”
Bryant, a five-time NBA champion with the L.A. Lakers and the fourth-leading scorer of all time, lived in a gated community in Newport Beach off of North Pelican Hill Road, and owned a number of other properties in the area.
Founded in 2009, eXp is one of the fastest-growing national brokerages with 20,000 agents as of August. At a time when traditional firms have been competing for agents, eXp offers high splits, revenue-sharing and company stock options. During the second quarter of 2019, it reported a “record” $266.7 million in revenue, up 104 percent year-over-year, but its losses were also up 16 percent, to $2.2 million. It recently launched its own iBuying program called Express Offers. [Inman] — TRD Staff